Title

[[#|Insulation]] Fascination

Problem Scenario

I was wondering why different living creatures have different forms of insulation. For example, birds have feathers, dogs have fur, and whales have fat. So which insulator actually insulates best?

Broad Question

How do different creatures stay warm?

Specific Question

Which living creature's insulator holds in heat better over time?

Hypothesis

Considering that most creatures living in cold temperatures have fat for body heat/ insulation, I hypothesize that the fat will [[#|insulate]] the water better compared to the feathers and dog fur.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Different insulators

Dependent Variable:

The temperature of the water

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Type of cup and container
Thermometer
Amount of insulation

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Insulation: material used to insulate a body, space, or region.

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General Plan

In this experiment I will fill a foam cup with water of about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and put a lid on the cup. The lid will have a small opening for a thermometer to fit in. I will place the foam cup into a larger plastic cup and fill the extra space around it with a type of insulation (dog fur, feathers, or fat). I will repeat that process for three individual cups (one for each insulation). I will test each insulator five different times each for an accurate experiment. After 40 minutes, I will stop recording and analyze my data. I can then determine that the insulation type that surrounded the cup of water that decreased in temperature the slowest, and resulted in a higher temperature, was the best type of insulation I tested.

Potential Problems And Solutions

Problem: Each insulator will heat the cup equally and end up with the exact same temperature.
Solution: I will test with multiple cups to be sure to get an accurate temperature.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

I have no safety or environmental concerns.

Experimental Design

What is your experimental unit?

My experimental unit will be one cup

Number Of Trials:

I will do 5 trials (five times for each insulator)

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

I have 3 subjects in each trial.

Number of Observations:

I will have 30 observations.

When data will be collected:

My data will be collected between February 4th - March 1st.
Where will data be collected?
My data will be collected during my science class and at my house.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Small foam cup (with lid)	15-20	Staples	$5.00
Large cup (with lid)	5-10	Gas Station	$5.00
Lab Quest	3	School	$0.00
Dog Fur		My dog	$0.00
Fat (Crisco Shortening)	about 3 lb.	Hannaford	$5.99
Feathers		Comforter	$0.00
Notebook	1	CVS Pharmacy	$3.00-$7.00
Poster board	1	Mr. Biche	$5.00

Detailed Procedure

1. First I took out a 24 ounce liquid measuring cup and filled it with hot water
2. Then I plugged a thermometer probe into my Lab Quest and placed the thermometer in the measuring cup.
3. I waited for the temperature of the water to reach 40 degrees Celsius.
4. Once the temperature of the water was at 40 degrees C, I poured 8 ounces of the water in three individual 12 ounce foam cups (in a random order).
5. After each cup had been filled with 8 ounces of water, I put a lid on each cup.
6. Next, I placed each 12 ounce foam cup into a larger 20 ounce plastic cup.
7. When each 12 cup was inside a 20 ounce cup, I carefully put a layer of insulation in the excess space between the two cups.
8. I put a different type of insulation I each cup (fat, fur, or feathers).
9. Once all three cups were surrounded with insulation, I put the lid of the 20 ounce plastic cup on top.
10. I brought the cups into my basement where the temperature was about __ degrees F and more realistic to what most animals face everyday.
11. Next, I plugged my three thermometer probes into my LabQuest.
12. Then I placed one thermometer through the openings of both the inner and outer lid
13. By the time each thermometer probe was in each cup, the water's temperature was about 34-39 degrees Celsius
14. Next I wrote the starting temperature of each cup (current temperature) and started recording my data on the LabQuest.
15. After five minutes I checked on the cups and wrote the current temperature of each cup in my science notebook.
16. After 35 minutes my experiment was over so I saved the data and graph onto my USB and the LabQuest itself. I also wrote down the final temperature of each cup in my science notebook.
17. Once I had my data, I could look at it and see that which insulator held in the heat the best.

Diagram

Photo List

• The three cups filled with each insulation

Time Line
2/1- Procedure, timeline, and photo list complete
2/4- Begin experiments no later than
3/1- Experiments done
3/15- Discussion/Background done
3/15- Wiki Complete
3/22- Posters Complete
3/29- School Fair

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Data Table

Time	Fur	Fat	Feathers

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

A

B

C

D

E

A- Trial 1 final graph of recorded data
B- Trial 2 final graph of recorded data
C- Trial 3 final graph of recorded data
D- Trial 4 final graph of recorded data
E- Trial 5 final graph of recorded data

Photos

three cups of different insulation

cups being measured with the thermometers and LabQuest

Results

During this experiment I measured temperature as it cooled down from about 37 degree Celsius water. Each cup had a different type of insulation (fur, fat, or feathers). I let the water sit for 40 minutes while a thermometer was inside and the LabQuest was collecting data. After 40 minutes I took the thermometers out and saved my data. After I had done this 5 times, I had finally gathered a ton of data. I used the slope of best fit to calculate the rate of change. Once I finished this process, I completed a chart which helped me find the averages of the rates of change. The result was that fur had the lowest rate of change overall with -0.14676. Feathers was a close second with -0.15226. And fat had the highest amount of change, -0.16216.

Conclusion

I hypothesized that fat would be the best type of insulation. Based on my data, I reject my hypothesis. I reject my hypothesis because fur was the best type of insulation and fat was actually the worst. Fat did not insulate (hold in the heat) the cup of water the best. The average rate of heat loss for fat was 0.16216 degrees Celsius per minute, whereas the average rate of heat loss for fur was 0.14676 degrees C per minute. So, overall my hypothesis was the opposite of the real results.

Discussion

I am very glad I was able to answer my question. I hypothesized that fat would result as being the best type of insulation. However, fur was the best. Even though my hypothesis was incorrect, I still collected data and came up with a result. When I first started my experiment, some things were much more difficult than I had expected and some things did not go as planned. After making a few alterations and doing plenty of mathematical thinking, I figured out a way to make my experiment work. Finally, I gathered my data. I calculated the rate of change which took a lot of computer work and thinking also. I am so thankful that my project ended out pretty well.

The patterns that my data showed was that feathers usually resulted in the highest temperature, but fur was actually the best insulator. At first, I was positive feathers would be the best type of insulation, based on the data I had. But after finding the rate of change, I discovered that fur was actually being the best insulator! It was quite surprising It was very hard for me to find other trends or patterns on my data, other than the obvious ones. That is because I have so much data for each trial.

I believe that the results and information from my data could be useful for anybody. Many companies manufactor down feather jackets, but based on my data, down feathers is not the best insulator. Maybe some day, factories will start producing fur-lined jackets and other types of clothing. It could come in handy to many people worldwide.

My results not only benefit customers/clothing, they also benefit more scientific topics. I for one, had no idea that fat would not be the best insulator. Considering that whales and seals and many other aquatic mammals live in cold temperatures of water, I would have expected that fat would insulate the best. But looking at my data now, I understand why fur and feathers were the better types of insulation. Most feathered birds live in East during Spring, Summer, and Fall, and migrate to the South during Winter. Having a warm body temperature during that migration is majorly important, so feathers are perfect for the birds. Also, feathers are very lightweight, making it easier for birds to fly. Fur was the best type of insulation, and that can also relate to the outside world. Many animals with fur live in cold climates, or at least face cold temperatures once in a while. Scientists may be surprised by my data and it could potentially lead to greater discoveries and more scientific animal knowledge.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

The results of my experiment may benefit the community. If someone is wondering what to wear to keep them the warmest, they could look at my data and realize that they should wear something with fur or feathers, but most effectively fur. My results could possibly be the answer to several people's dilemma.

Background Research

Before actually doing my experiment, I had to find out what the starting temperature would be. So I looked up the average body temperatures of 15 different animals (five with fur insulation, five with fat for insulation, and five with feathers for insulation) I added all the temperatures together, and divided the result by 15 to find the average. The answer I came up with was 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees F. What surprised me was that 98.6 degrees F is the average body temperature for a human, too. So about 37 degrees was the starting temperature.
After my first trial, I gathered my data and found that fat insulated the water the least. Finding that fat insulated the least reflected back on real mammals with fat as an insulator. Seals, for example, spend their time on land and in water. Six species of seal live in Antarctica, living with temperatures of about -40 degrees C. So I personally would predict that seals, along with other aquatic animals, would have a better insulator. But then again, down feathers insulated the second best, which also makes sense. The average speed of a smaller bird flying is about 27 miles per hour, 10 hours per day, for a total of about 100-250 miles. Temperatures for the birds is not always guaranteed to be warm and sunny. Most birds face temperatures of 35 degrees F (16 degrees C) while flying. So, considering the circumstances, having a protective amount of insulation for a bird would be ideal. Fur was the best insulation type. Thinking about all the animals with fur helps me understand how fur would be the best insulation type. Polar bears and wolves for example, they both live in harshly cold weather climates, and fur is the perfect way to insulate their moving bodies. One exception to my data could be the penguin. Penguins have neither fur nor feathers. But they are birds. However, they do not fly. So, fat is the insulator that suits them best.

References

1. "Migration of Birds." NPWRC ::. N.p., 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/migratio/speed.htm>.
2. "Seals." About Antarctica:. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/downey/project/seals.html>.

Abstract

During my experiment I was trying to prove what type of insulation works best. To find this I took out three large 20 ounce plastic cups
and filled them with either fat, fur, or feathers. Next I placed a smaller 12 ounce foam cup inside the 20 ounce cup and spread the insulation out so it covered all around 12 ounce cup. Next I poured 8 ounces of about 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) water into the foam cup. After that, I placed a lid on the 12 ounce cup and the 20 ounce cup. Finally, I inserted a thermometer probe through the lids so it was inside the water. I plugged the thermometers in my LabQuest and let the water cool for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes I had collected data telling me which insulation insulated the water best. After 5 trials of this process, I had gathered enough data to create 5 graphs (one for each trial) showing which insulator worked best for that specific trial. Next, I calculated the rate of change by using the slope of best fit on the graphs. I used the rates I calculated for each trial and found the averages of the rates of change for each type of insulation. As a conclusion, I discovered that fur had the lowest rate of change at -0.14676. Feathers was a semi-close second with -0.15226. And fat had the highest amount of change, -0.16216. So, fur was the best type of insulation.